A
tapasvī
(ascetic) is one who accepts voluntary mortification and lives an extremely austere lifestyle, refraining from sensual pleasures and the accumulation of material wealth, as an aid in the pursuit of salvation. A
jñānī
is a person of learning who actively engages in the cultivation of knowledge. A
karmī
is one who performs the Vedic rituals for attaining material opulence and the celestial abodes. Shree Krishna declares the yogi to be superior to them all. The reason for this is simple. The goal of the
karmī, jñānī,
and
tapasvī
is worldly attainment; they are still at the bodily platform of existence. The yogi is striving not for the world, but for God. As a result, the yogi’s accomplishment is at the spiritual platform and is superior to them all.